In 1733, following the death of August the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) applied to the ruler's son and successor, Frederick August II, for a court title. Bach’s petition eventually was successful, and in 1736 he was named Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Court Composer. Bach had bolstered his application by submitting a missa brevis (brief mass, consisting of Kyrie and Gloria) dedicated to Frederick August. This work, the Missa in B Minor, which Bach with deliberate ...

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) composed six cantatas for the Christmas holidays in 1734, one to be performed on each of the individual feast days during the services in Leipzig’s main churches, Saint Thomas and Saint Nicolai. The running narrative of the Gospel, as well as the keys in which the framing musical statements were composed, give the cantatas the character of a self-contained cycle. For most of the arias and choruses, Bach added new text to music derived from his earlier compositions, most notably from two congratulatory cantatas ...